Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, January 09, 2006

Europe shows its leadership abilities again

Austria's Federal Chancellor and the rotating Head of European Union Wolfgang Schuessel said here Monday the EU has no reason to impose sanctions against Iran because of Tehran's nuclear policies.

Speaking to the reporters after meeting with members of European Commission, Schuessel said, 'Although there have always been the possibility of imposing sanctions, the EU member states take that measure as the last option'.

He added it is not time to consult about sanctions yet.

At the same time, EU rotating president condemned Iran's announcement to start its nuclear research.

Schuessel stressed the EU is following the issue with concern because Tehran is distancing from a settlement based on consensus.

Isn't it interesting that santions are now the last resort - and attacking their nuclear facilities is not even a possibility?

One must wonder why Europe bristles at the US always taking the lead in tackling world crises, whether rightly or wrongly, but when the EU actually has a chance to do something, they invariably close their eyes and plug their ears and sing "LA-LA-LA-LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

Iranians sure know how to have fun!

Par-ty! Par-ty!

Thousands of Iranian pilgrims participating in the 'Disavowal of Pagans' ritual in this sacred desert on Monday issued a resolution condemning the existence of a mercernary government called Israel by big powers.

Expressing their hatred towards International Zionism, the pilgrims condemened the crimes and machinations being committed by the Zionist regime.

The ralliers urged all Muslims to unite in order to neutralize the satanic policies of International Zionism.

They further condemned the hegemonic and war-mongering policies of the US and its allies that find expression in the occupation of Islamic states, massacre of civilians, torture of prisoners and establishment of secret and inhuman prisons.

The pilgrims expressed their affirmation to the peaceful use of nuclear technology as a legitimate right of all nations, including Muslims, and denounced the imposition of double standards on Islamic and western states in certain fields, particularly in the field of nuclear energy.

Stressing the rich economic and trade potentials of Muslim states, the ralliers called for establishment of an Islamic market and greater participation of Muslim nations in the production and distribution of goods.

Voicing their support for the people of occupied Iraq, they condemned terrorism in whatever form in that war-torn country.

Meanwhile, the pilgrims renewed their allegiance to the aspirations of the Founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Imam Khomeini, and Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

Tens of thousands of Haj pilgrims gathered in the Desert of Arafat, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mecca, chanted anti-US and anti-Zionist slogans during the `Disavowal of Pagans' ceremony held here Monday.

This is like Vegas East!

More details in an inexplicably separate article from the same august source:

Tens of thousands of Haj pilgrims chanted anti-US and anti-Zionist slogans during the `disavowal of pagans' ceremony held here Monday.
"God is Great," "There is no Deity but Allah," "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" were among the slogans chanted by the masses in unison as they gathered in the Desert of Arafat, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mecca, for a day of prayer and meditation.
The faithful -- men clad in two-piece seamless white shrouds and women all covered except for their hands and faces to symbolize equality -- converged on Arafat by bus and on foot from the tent city of Mina, where they spent the night.

With any luck, an alternate energy source will come soon, making oil obsolete and allowing them to stay in tent cities permanently, just like their holy ancestors.

Shocking omission at the JIB awards

As I was looking at the JIB award nominations this morning to vote for my favorites, I was shocked to see that AbbaGav was not nominated (successfully) for Best Jewish Humor Blog.

So since one point of the awards is for people to see blogs they would not otherwise see, I wanted to point my readers to AbbaGav.

AbbaGav has the sense of humor that you must have when you know that the rest of the world is crazy and you are the only sane one. (Not to mention that the world would love to see you disappear, because you are the cause of all their problems.)

The black humor and sheer prolificity (to coin a term) makes AbbaGav my favorite funny site of the moment, so I recommend it highly.

(This entire missive is just a ploy to get Gav to comment on my blog, because the comments have been pretty light lately.)

Demolition Democratzia

It is fascinating watching the Palestinian Arabs pretend to embrace "democracy."

We have the Palestinian Authority, which is a subsidiary of Fatah - a terror group - running as the moderate alternative to Hamas, a terror group.

Both groups have impeccable terrorist credentials. Fatah has the legacy of master terrorist Arafat - and they are trying to capitalize on it:

But Fatah is also trying to be seen as a moderate party, a pursuer of peace with Israel. This schizophrenia is making it hard to get anything done. Not to mention the intra-Fatah fights: between the "young guard" and the old-timers, between the Tunis leadership and the Ramallah leadership, between the Palestinian "police" and the Abbas.

At the same time, Hamas has a consistent message - destroy Israel and get rid of the Fatah corruption. A single-minded focus on terror can only help, with a healthy dose of Islamic fundamentalism (Hamas, just like Al Qaeda, is a direct descendant of the Muslim Brotherhood.) Add this to the fact that Hamas has actually shown interest in improving the lives of ordinary Palestinian Arabs (in order to recruit them to terror, but still...) and it is hard for Hamas not be seen as the clear winner in any fair election - even though most actual Palestinian Arabs would prefer the pre-intifada world, they do not want to be led by the corrupt and hypocritical Fatah.

So now that the democratic table is set for Hamas to win any elections, the Western world suddenly becomes anti-democratic, or at the very least it gets its own schizophrenia about how Palestinian elections should be. This is in no small part due to the Bush mantra of "democracy" when in fact the mantra should have been "freedom."

Democracy depends on an emotionally mature nation, and the Palestinian Arabs have acted any way but mature. Asking them to vote in the screwed-up world they live in is like asking seven-year olds to vote based only on the content of cereal commercials.

That being said, I do not have the same problem with Hamas running for elections that most of the Western world seems to. There is no real difference between Fatah and Hamas in their policies vis-a-vis Israel, just Hamas is more honest about its goals. A Hamas leadership would not have the Arafatian-style lies and half-measures to lean upon to make the world pressure Israel to make even more concessions. And it does appear that the world is wearying of the entire Palestinian Arab problem, as it is finally noticing that even when Israel gives them land for free, the Palestinian Arabs cannot show any ability to govern. (I think giving up Gaza the way it was done was a mistake, but this was one positive result.)

Also, any election that Hamas wins will be the last elections of "Palestine" - shari'a law will become the norm and some Imam will become the de-facto dictator.

Now that the Palestinian Arabs have a chance to show the world that they can run a country, they will show the exact opposite. Too bad so many innocent people had to die to prove what should have been obvious from the beginning.

The UN gives Hamas a raise, the PA keeps "refugees" in camps

Hat tip Iris blog.

We've known about the UNRWA support for terror for years, but this article shows even more clearly how much Hamas uses UN funds for its own terror activities.

It also adds a telling detail - that the PA itself refuses to dismantle "refugee" camps in Gaza to allow its people to live in decent conditions! As we've known for years, the supposed leaders of the Palestinian Arabs and of other Arab countries are more interested in keeping Palestinian Arabs in miserable conditions (to pressure Israel) than they are in their welfare. There is little that proves this as clearly as the facts in this article.

The decision taken at the end of December 2005, by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to provide a large increase in salaries for its thousands of workers, contributes directly to HAMAS’ coffers. The significant raise takes effect this month.

The 7.5 – 21% increase for UNRWA’s workers was ostensibly enacted to bring their salaries closer to the much higher level of Palestinian Authority employees. UNRWA is “the second biggest employer” in Gaza after the Palestinian Authority.

The UNRWA raise also has had the dire effect of increasing UN funding to HAMAS. Most UNRWA workers in Gaza – in fact 90 percent - voted for HAMAS in their 2003 union elections. HAMAS also runs the union’s executive committee, and controls 23 of the 27 seats in of the workers’ representatives in the different sectors, such as teachers, clerks, services, etc.

Since HAMAS deducts membership fees of its activists from their UNRWA salaries, the UNWRA raise contributes directly to the HAMAS budget

The more HAMAS gains the more Fatah stands to lose. Indeed, a Gaza Fatah leader and candidate for elections in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, Doctor Sallah Bardawil, strongly protested the UNRWA salary increase. On December 29, 2005, Bardawil noted that the HAMAS election campaign is supported directly by fees paid to HAMAS by its UNRWA members. According to Bardawil, HAMAS also finances its activities with additional contributions from the Palestinian public and the Muslim World.

However, since Hamas, like its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, obligates each member to pay dues proportionate to 3 to 5%, of their salary, the raise increases both the Zakat – the obligatory payment of at least 2.5% of their annual income – as well as the membership dues. Thus, the UNRWA workers’ contributions add more funds to the HAMAS campaign chest.

Israel demanded long ago and repeatedly that UNWRA fire workers who are members of the Hamas terror organization. Many of the terrorists and the suicide bombers were either UNRWA employees, or originated from UNRWA run refugee camps and educational institutions. UNWRA denied the charges despite the evidence.

UNRWA, since its establishment in 1949, together with the Arab/Islamist nations, and with the Palestinian Authority since 1993, has been working to preserve and continue the Palestinian refugee problem, rather than eliminating it. Thus, UNRWA maintains the Arab/Israeli conflict. In the latest telling example, even after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, when the Palestinian Authority refused to help the refugees in the refugee “camps,” despite receiving generous international aid for economic development, UNRWA did not demand that the PA resettle the refugees. For example, the PA received $100 million from the United Arab Emirates (UAE),) to build a new town named Sheikh Khalifa City, in honor of the UAE president on the ruins of MORAG, one of the Israeli settlements. This new city was to house the families of shahids, prisoners, and families harmed by the conflict.

Yet, despite the poor housing conditions in the refugee camps, the Palestinian Authority deliberately refuses to settle these refugees in the new city. The PA maintains this attitude in order to maintain the refugee problem, and to claim the Palestinian “right of return” to Israel. UNRWA plays along with the PA. Moreover, it provides financial support to HAMAS, which is devoted to the perennial Jihad against Israel and the West.

You can now vote for your favorite Jewish and Israeli blogs at the JIB Awards.

I am happy to see that Rose's Story did make it in the competition for Best Series!

You are allowed to vote once every three days, so you can spread your votes among worthy nominees or try to stack the deck for your favorites! :)

The first round of voting is open through January 19th.

Ethical terrorists save the day!

Hamas is mad as hell, and isn't going to take it anymore!

GAZA CITY, January 7, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Palestinian resistance factions have accused the Palestinian Authority of failing its security responsibility, revealing plans to set up a joint force to maintain order and grind the raging chaos in the territories to a halt.

'If the PA dragged its feet over this issue, we would set up a special security force to undertake this responsibility,' Ezz El-Dine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs and Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades, said in a joint statement, a copy of which was obtained by IslamOnline.net on Saturday, January 7.

They stressed that the PA was expected to restore order, maintain security and adopt a zero-tolerance policy with those behind the recent anarchy.

The factions pointed the finger at 'suspicious bodies' for plunging the Gaza Strip into a state of lawlessness.

The factions further denounced the unrest at the Gaza-Egypt border and the spat of kidnappings in Gaza , saying these irresponsible acts did not reflect the ethics of the Palestinian people.

'We condemn this incident in the strongest possible terms as it badly hurts the image of the Palestinians, who only use their weapons against the Zionist enemy,' read the statement."

Isn't it heartwarming to see Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad work together in the spirit of unity, ethics and brotherhood to make Gaza the paradise it is meant to be - where weapons and explosives are only to be used against Jews?

I'm sure the EU and UN will be praising this new, tripartisan movement as a positive sign towards peace.

(I must also mention how snazzy the terrorists look in their green Hamas caps. So friendly!)

Chilul Hashem

The list of people happy about Sharon's illness:

It does not reflect well on these people to be in such company.

Washington DC Imam: Muslims will destroy Jews, Israel

These words come not from some bizarre fringe Saudi cleric, but from Imam Mohammed Al-Asi, the "the elected Imam of Muslims in Washington DC". A quick Google finds many Muslim sites quoting him approvingly. His latest screed ends thusly:

Little do they know, but the Jewish worshippers of Israel who are publicly celebrating 57 years of a historical aberration are, by all the forces of history and divine decree, celebrating the coming of a day when they will have to come to terms with Islamic self-determination in the Holy Land area and beyond that into the expanses of Africa and Asia. The prophet of Allah, upon whom be peace, summed it up when he said:

'The final hour shall not commence until the Muslims engage Yahud in warfare. And the Muslims will deal the deathblow to Yahud. These Yahud will hide behind timber and boulder that will call out on Muslims: “O Muslim there is a Yahudi in disguise, come and annihilate him.”

It is entirely possible, however, that this esteemed Imam is a liar, as his name is not mentioned anywhere on the Islamic Center of Washington website. According to the ADL, the Islamic Center denies any connection to him.

Even so, the existence of such an Islamic supremacist bigot who is publishing incitement and hate against Jews in the US is noteworthy.

Democracy in action

By SALAH NASRAWI, Associated Press Writer
At least 15 pilgrims were killed Thursday and 39 injured when a building near the Grand Mosque collapsed around them just after they returned from midday prayers, the Interior Ministry said.

The tragedy in Islam's holiest city came as millions of Muslims converged for the annual hajj pilgrimage, which begins Sunday.

A statement from the Interior Ministry, quoting Ali al-Tuwejli, head of Mecca's civil defense team, said the death toll could reach 20 and the number of wounded could number more than 80.

A civil defense official told government-run Al-Ekhbariya television that the 40-year-old building's foundations were cracked and too weak to support the weight.

While this is of course a tragedy, there is an interesting media angle to this story:

How can the media report anything that happens in Mecca and Medina objectively when no non-Muslims are allowed in those cities?

If only Muslim reporters and photographers are allowed in the cities, and clearly they themselves regard the cities as holy, will they report news or just toe the official line?

How do we know that this building collapse wasn't a bomb that would embarrass the Saudi government, for example?

Apparently, here is how "due process" is done in Palestinian Arabia:

* Arrest the criminal suspect.
* Let him go.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Jan 5, 2006 — Palestinian authorities on Thursday released a militant held in connection with the kidnapping of a British family in Gaza, a day after his followers went on a rampage and smashed holes in a wall along the Egypt border.

Palestinian security officials refused to comment on why they released Alaa al-Hams, a militant from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The group is affiliated with the ruling Fatah Party.

'I was released as a result of the agreement reached between Fatah and the (Palestinian) Authority yesterday. This will calm all types of protests from our side,' al-Hams told The Associated Press by telephone.

Al-Hams was arrested late Tuesday on suspicion his group kidnapped human rights activist Kate Burton and her parents for two days last week. They were released unharmed.

Early Wednesday, his supporters stormed government buildings in the southern Gaza town of Rafah and blockaded the border crossing with Egypt. Later, they hijacked bulldozers and broke down a wall along the border, sending hundreds of angry Palestinians streaming into Egypt.

Two Egyptian troops were killed and 30 were wounded by gunfire in the rampage, a brazen challenge to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' authority.

It is funny how when Israel controlled Gaza, all terrorist activity was blamed on Israel and no one considered that the terrorists are just criminals who are inculcated in a culture of violence. Every terror attack had a "reason" and that reason was never plain Jew-hatred.

Now that they don't have Israelis around, they are attacking their own supposed leadership. And their allies in Egypt. And any Western supporters who happen to be around.

Haters don't need a reason to hate, and the constant attempts to "understand" them is counterproductive, to put it mildly.

Mi-mi-mi-meme

I was tagged by Elie for the "four" meme. Why there are more than four questions, I do not know.

Four jobs you've had in your life:

Sunday-school teacher
Computer security consultant
Video editor
Font designer

Four movies you could watch over and over:

Groundhog Day
My Cousin Vinny
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Shawshank Redemption

Four places you've lived:

Allentown, PA
Edison, NJ
Philadelphia
Pikesville, MD

Four TV shows you love to watch:

The Simpsons
The Prisoner
Taxi
South Park

Four places you've been on vacation:

London
The Bahamas
Cancun
Israel

Four websites you visit daily (or at least every weekday):

Four of your favorite foods:

Yodels
Tribe of Two Sheiks Cracked Chili Pepper Hummus
Schwarma
Calzones (every pizza shop makes them radically different)

Four places you'd rather be: (I'm assuming at the moment, not lifetime)

Israel
Home instead of work
Bermuda
San Francisco

Four books you'll read over and over again - not counting Torah:

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series
Harry Potter series (at least before the 7th book comes out)
Any Scott Adams' Dilbert books
Our Bodies, Our Selves (kidding!)

Four that I'll tag with this Meme:

Rogue Jew (because he said hi on my tagboard)
Callie
Atheist Jew
Maharal (because he made a nice comment to me)

Professional courtesy

Earlier today it was reported that Palestinian gunmen burst into a house in Rafah and tried to kidnap the parents of Rachel Corrie, an American activist who was killed in 2003 as she protested the demolition of a house in the southern Gaza town.

According the Corries' host, the five gunmen appeared to be affiliated with Fatah, though it was unclear whether they were from the same group that blockaded the border.

The gunmen eventually relented after being told who their targets were, he said.

Just waiting for the Corries to issue a statement blaming Israel...

In other news...I wonder if it was a Caterpillar?

A group of gunmen associated with Palestine's ruling Fatah movement has used a stolen bulldozer to smash through a barricade on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

I wish I knew what he was talking about

Anyone know what this is?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi here Wednesday condemned a Zionist company's humiliating act against Muslims, saying it shows the stupidity of the company's officials.
"This measure shows the Zionists' grudge against not only Muslims but also all who believe in the Almighty.

"A printed card which apparently mocked Muslims and their religious beliefs explicitly indicated the lack of confidence of the followers of Zionism in the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque as the first qibla of Muslims and a holy site for all Ibrahimite religions," he said. (That statement by itself is priceless. -EoZ)

The spokesman added, "Iran's Foreign Ministry calls on the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the UN Secretary General (Kofi Annan) to show a strong reaction to and condemn such an act of impudence.

"Other regional and international organizations are also required to protest the impudence of the Zionist company and seriously adopt necessary measures to punish it," he said.

So what did the "Zionist company" do? And how can I get a copy of this card?